Acne and the "T Zone"
Facial acne is perhaps
the worst form of acne compared to afflictions in other parts of the body,
simply because it is the most difficult to conceal, and easily the most
noticeable in any circumstance, except perhaps from certain angles at a
beach or a nudist colony. The
notoriety of the face as a prime spawning ground for acne is evident in the
coining of the term “T-Zone”, which refers to the T-shaped area on a
person’s face that consists of one’s forehead, nose and chin.
People with naturally oily skin or a combination of different skin
types have a particularly exasperating time keeping acne away from these
areas. The face is contoured in
such a way that bacteria simply can’t help but accumulate in the crevice and
corners around the eyes, lips, chin and corners of the nose, and sebum
flowing from the scalp region inevitably settles in the forehead region.
Likewise, the T-Zone is the area that is touched the most by dirty
hands. Think about the number of
times you end up touching your face every day, either consciously or without
really being aware of it, and it becomes apparent that we spread a lot of
dirt and bacteria around our faces on a daily basis.
Moreover, touching existing acne outbreak sites can cause acne to
worsen or burst from the bacterial accumulation, contributing to the
proliferation of even more filth on your face’s surface.
Management of T-Zone
acne involves a regimen of daily facial cleansing and care, some preventive
or remedial medicinal treatment, and an increased level of self-control.
You would do well to observe the following tips:
Lessen the Moisturizer.
Conventional beauty expert advice extols the virtues of applying lots of
moisturizer to keep the skin supple all day, but the truth is that the body
does produce skin oil of its own that performs that function adequately on
its own. Moisturizer can still
be used, certainly, but not in the ridiculous gobs that you may have gotten
used to applying. Individuals
with T-Zone acne problems who decreased their moisturizer usage, and leaving
it off their foreheads, discovered that their skin recovered afterwards with
a little maintenance.
Stop Touching Your Face.
This may be difficult to enforce because we aren’t really aware most of the
time that our fingers find themselves on our faces, but if you want to keep
your face acne-free, you may as well engage in some self-discipline.
Conversely, considering washing your hands with a mild soap every so
often to keep your hands relatively clean.
Avoid using abrasive drying soaps or detergent-level soaps, which can
cause dryness and actually worsen acne outbreaks due to the microscopic
tears that they inflict on your skin.
Use Pore Strips and Blotting Sheets.
Pore strips are excellent for removing blackheads and whiteheads from your
face, preventing them from degenerating into worse forms of acne.
Oil blotting sheets are also good for removing excess sebum on one’s
face, so that bacteria doesn’t get trapped and cause pore clogging.
Cleanse Your Face Regularly.
Washing your face twice daily with a mild soap or special noncomedogenic
cleanser is just about right to keep your T-Zone in a pristine state.
Too much washing just causes dryness and damage, both of which
attract acne outbreaks.
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